Pioneer1

Facts During 2020, it was Trump and the Republican governors who were letting the most violent of criminal out of the jails and prisons across the U.S. out of recentment to the mass protests that were taking place earlier that summer. They let them out in the name of "covid" but they weren't letting out the NON-VIOLENT inmates...just the most violent ones. Knowing full well that was going to happen. Now violent crime has skyrocketed across the nation. But you don't want to believe in racist conspiracies @Troy ?????

Troy I think it is a waste of mental energy to believe roundabouts are a plot to kill Black people, but it is a greater waste to try to convince you otherwise. It's also a strawman argument made up by YOU to dismiss my legitimate questions about roundabouts. No one said roundabouts were a plot to kill "Black people". I said it was designed to cause MORE CONFUSION and thus MORE ACCIDENTS. A statement made by Frankster HIMSELF supports my assertion: He said, "Whilst Traffic circles results in more accident they tend to be fender benders, swipes and scratches" No you don’t do that unless you’re trying to deceive yourself or someone else. Are you trying to win an argument or get at the truth? Both. If the ONLY purpose of the internet was fact-finding, then there would be no features allowing us to dialog and post our thoughts and assertions. It was said that the purpose of roundabouts were to save more lives. I showed the stats that showed that since 2010 there's been an INCREASE in traffic fatalities, despite the increase in roundabouts on our roads. It's up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions, but if the purpose of them was to save more lives...they haven't overall. Pioneer1 watch the short video @frankster shared above, and let me know if it changes your mind. I've watched both, and the first one sounds like more racist propaganda to me...(not accusing Frankster of this but those behind the video)....telling us how nice Sweden and the Netherlands is. We've been hearing that over and over again for the past 40 years or so, how nice it is up in Sweden and Norway and how smart and civil they are and how our society should model there's. Nazi propaganda to promote blond haired blue eyed superiority. frankster The Swedish Idea Vision Zero is the impetus behind most of the new changes in road design first adopted by Washington in 2000 and first implemented in NYC In 2014 its a growing Global policy but not yet totally accept Nationwide in the US. Which is a big "mistake" (or perhaps it was done on purpose) because the U.S. is NOT Sweden and what works there, doesn't necessarily work here. We'll never be like Sweden or Norway, the demographic is different and the spirit is different. They should stop trying to push that "aryan superiority" garbage over here. Those people are freaks of nature anyway.

Troy I didn't say religions "cannot" evolve. Whether they've "evolved" or not is up to debate, but many religions certainly have changed over time. My point is, if a religion comes from GOD it's not likely to "evolve" because I don't believe God would give us an IMPERFECT religion to begin with that needs "evolving". You don't "evolve" from perfection. You can DEVIATE from it and become corrupt, but if you are already perfect then there is no need to evolve or even change.

Well just because YOU wouldn't do something so diabolical, don't make the mistake of believing OTHERS wouldn't do it for the sake of profit. Hell, one of the reasons the U.S. doesn't have Universal Healthcare is because a lot of racist White folks would rather see people of color die before getting quality healthcare from "their" taxes. That should tell you RIGHT THERE the mindset a lot of Whites have. But you don't want to believe they'll sit around and plot and plan how to kill more people for profit motive????? To answer your question......YES. That's what you do with data when you're trying to make your point with it, pick and choose the information that bolsters the point you're making. It's not like I made it up. I provided the link and you can see it for yourself.....traffic deaths HAVE NOT gone down with the increase of roundabouts.

Troy No, I would not knowingly give my kids any of those things. So if YOU as a human wouldn't give your children things that are imperfect if you can avoid it...why do you think God would? Of course not. But, why do you think that is? Because most of them are MAN-made. I would say "all" but I haven't studied "all" religions to make such a sweeping generalization of religion period. And because man isn't perfect, his concoctions and establishments aren't either. Pioneer do you agree with Prof D? Be it faaaaaar from me to sit up and disagree with the Professor...lol. I agree that if it comes from humans, no...it's not perfect. And most religions that I've studied come from humans.

This reminds me of the Black man who shot a bunch of cops down in Dallas a few years back and one of them just "happened" to have a Confederate Flag t-shirt on under his uniform. It may have been him, or another similar incident. What are the chances of that happening....unless SO MANY of them are Confederates and Nazis that they've saturated the force? But it goes to show you how deep White racism is and how so many White folks....if you just dig a little into their past....can be shown to be full blown racists. I'm sure there's a little "Jerry Jones" in most White men.

ProfD So we agree that speed is a factor. And just like it's used to give people tickets and increase revenue, that factor is CAN be used to calculate and increase the death/accident rate to make more money for various agencies too "if" they choose to do so, wouldn't you agree? Another one is many states ERASING the laws that demand you wear a motor cycle helmet. What reason would there be for erasing those laws besides increasing death and serious injury from motor cycle accidents??? Troy Nothing special, I just used them as ONE example of Environmental Error Factors. There are many many more. You still didn't answer my question, do you believe conspiracies exist?

Says common sense....lol. Why would God give you a religion with flaws in it? Would you give YOUR children food with impurities and small amounts of toxins in it? Would you give them information that you know isn't totally correct? If you wouldn't do that to your own children as a human, why do you think God would? To answer your question though, I haven't found ANY perfect religions yet.

Frankster I can Answer your question about traffic circles or roundabouts definitively as I work on one such project. The Main purpose is to save lives....a study was done which basically says - Vision Zero Traffic Lights cause less accidents overall but when they do occur the tend to result in more devastating consequence - serious bodily injury or death. Whilst Traffic circles results in more accident they tend to be fender benders, swipes and scratches In Short Traffic circles saves more lives." If that's true.... Then why have traffic deaths GONE UP since the installation of these roundabouts through out the nation???? Yearly snapshot (iihs.org) U.S. traffic deaths hit 20-year high in early 2022 U.S. traffic deaths hit 20-year high in early 2022 (nbcnews.com) I'm not saying that these roundabouts are THEE cause of the increase in traffic fatalities, but they certainly haven't reduced them according to statistics.

ProfD Otherwise, traffic circles (roundabouts) break up the typical grid layout of street design consisting of vertical, horizontal and a few diagonal lines. True, but the question would be "why"? If the grid design was working and helped people find their way around town easier (like numbered streets for example) why break that up and introduce a newer more confusing design? I believe it was done to increase confusion. In other words traffic circles (roundabouts) were not planned to cause confusion on the streets. It was intended to make streets look better from a planning and layout perspective. Truly, the asthetics of it depends on the roundabout. SOME Roundabouts make the environment look better because of what is actually IN the roundabout like the Arc of Triumph in Paris. Or this one in London But most of the roundabouts in the United States have no monuments in them and aren't especially designed. They are just circles in the middle of the damn street with maybe a mound of grass on them. Confusing as hell not only for the motorists, but for the pedestrians who are trying to cross them not sure if a car is stopping for them or just slowing down. Speed catches a bad rap as it relates to car accidents and fatalities. Speed is a FACTOR in traffic deaths. It's not the ONLY factor, but it's a major one. Obviously the faster a car is going whether one is in it or being hit by it, the higher the risk of serious injury or death. Also keep in mind that in Germany a) There are fewer cars on the highways than in the U.S. period b) The cars in Germany tend to be in better shape, so when that is factored in...U.S. cars and drivers who would get on the Autobahn would definitely raise the fatality rate. But, here in the US, speed is a convenient excuse to criminalize drivers and increase revenues. Speeding tickets and traffic cameras have been big business for decades Another example of my point about Environmental Error Factors! They purposely increase the speed limit knowing you'll still go over it, then turn around and give you a ticket for doing so in order to increase revenue. Troy Man this sounds like conspiracy theory stuff to me. You don't believe conspiracies exist? Everything is not a diabolical plan to kill Black people. Not everything, but way too many things are. We should pay attention to EVERTHING we didn't have a hand in making in this society. Most laws in this society are planned by White folks to ENTRAP people. Malcolm X put it eloquently (paraphrasing): "Now here's a White man who'll SELL you the dice then turn around and lock you up for gambling! He SELLS you the liquor, then turns around and locks you up for public drunkenness! And he's mad at us, because we clean you up and pull you out of the traps he laid for you!"

Whaaa......lol. Man, was that a little Uptown BX seeping out of you? Were you wearing Timberland boots, a hoodie, and camouflage pants when you posted that comment???

Easy answer...... Things "evolve" to reach a better state of existence. A religion that comes from God would be PERFECT already, so you don't "evolve" from perfection.

I DEFINITELY plan to go see this movie! After reading the background behind the film, if it's as good as I expect it to be I'm willing to support it to the extent of watching it several times AT the theater WITH several friends to do my small part in increasing the revenue and views. Those of you who are observant will notice my position on THIS movie versus my position on "The Woman King" and wonder aloud why such a stark contrast.

You didn't say the way "a" world works, but the way "the" world works. You obviously were being specific about a particular type of world, so which world did you have in mind? Western world? Islamic world? Scientific world? Disney world? Now tell me, lol..... How can we intelligent discuss how "the world" works when we don't have a clear understanding of which world we're focusing on?

Happiness is HIGHLY subjective and whether or not acquisition equates to happiness depends on EACH person. Just because YOU don't derive happiness from within, doesn't mean the next person doesn't get their main source of happiness from external sources. For some, it absolutely does. And it may not necessarily be the material (or people) acquired that leads to happiness, but the SUCCESS of the actual acquisition itself. Makes one feel like a real winner being able to set goals and achieve them.

Bro ProfD! I know most people aren't familiar with our brother Mr. Fuller, and that's understandable. But they ARE familiar with life, and if they've lived in this society it's hard for me to believe most people haven't noticed INTENTIONAL stressors and accident makers. As stressed out as AfroAmericans often are when you encounter them, seems to me we'd be sitting down trying to figure out how to eliminate as much confusion in our lives as possible. Now take those traffic round-a-bouts for example.... Most people over a certain age haven't learned anything about them in driving school and they can be quite confusing, especially the the first few times trying to drive through them. What was the purpose of installing them at intersections all across America? They haven't reduced the number of accidents but have actually INCREASED them and caused more confusion in traffic. It's pretty obvious Black people didn't come up with the concept of installing these hazards on the highways, it White folks in the government and urban planning departments who got together and pretty much FORCED the rest of the population to endure them whether we liked or wanted them or not.

Conventional wisdom tells me it's much easier for a smart man to play dumb....than for a dumb man to play smart.

There are MANY worlds. Pick one, first of all.

And here in lays the problem. If YOU can make it as you choose and fix it up how you like, how much influence does the Divine have over it? If a religion is just as malleable as a political party or social organization where humans can formulate it, rewire it, and reform it to their own liking....obviously it's not Divinely ordained or protected or they wouldn't be ABLE to do so. So the question is, why even believe in a concept so easily reshaped and restructured.

How????

I hope I'm not just wasting time and space with this thread. I hope atleast a few people can relate to this. The profound social scientist and philosopher Neely Fuller Jr. coined a term for a tactic of White Racism that is often used in the workplace and society in general called "Environmental Error Factors". It's a broad and kind of vague term but what he talks about actually exists and I've been noticing it for a long time although I didn't have a particular name for it. It goes a little something like..... White racists in positions of authority....whether on the job, in the government, etc...will get together and come up with laws or rules or polices that often contradict eachother or design the environmnent where it's dangerous and things are out of place. That's right! They PURPOSELY plan and design situations that are dangerous and/or confusing. The main goal in doing this is to create CONFUSION in the minds of the victims of White Racism to the point you get frustrated which leads to mistakes, misplaced aggression, and a general retardation of progress and development. For examples......... They'll get together in the Federal Government and say Marijuana is ILLEGAL but those at the state level will get together and pass laws saying the Marijuana is LEGAL. So now you have people going around thinking it's LEGAL to smoke and possess it, but end up getting locked up by the Feds. They both are working together to trick and trap people but pretend to oppose eachother. Or they'll increase the speed limit on a highway by another 10 MPH....calculating that it will lead to another couple thousand deaths per year. Which means more money for hospitals, insurance agencies, etc... The authorities KNOW increasing the speed limit will lead to more deaths, it's all calculated. Or they'll create a new department at your job that oversees and overlaps YOUR department so now you have two bosses or two policies telling you what to do and they often contradict each other, so if you obey one and don't follow the other....it's grounds for termination. That way even if you try to follow the "rules"...there are so many you can't keep up with them and end up breaking one. Another tactic in the workplace they've been using lately is not having ANY clear set of rules, especially written so that you can be accused of breaking the rules but when you ask to see those rules...they won't show you because THEY make the rules up as they go along. In the old days, we used to DEMAND a clear set of written policies so those type of games couldn't be played....but this newer generation doesn't demand it as much. They purposely do this. It's real, and they know EXACTLY what they're doing. They do it to create confusion, frustration, and make you feel powerless. Very few things in this government and society generated among people happens by accident, people are behind it causing it. As I've said before, I've seen this type of tactic for decades but didn't have a name for it. Environmental Error Factors Not sure why he came up with THAT particular name, but the existence of it is a fact.

Oh, is THAT the official position of the right-wing now a days? That Ukraine is the enemy....instead of Russia....and that THEY attacked Poland? Sorry, I haven't been keeping up with too many right-wing discussions lately.....lol

And did Mike Pence state that those were his positions? That slavery didn't happen? That the Holocaust didn't happen? That the slaughter of Native Americans didn't happen? I'm certainly not an apologist for Pence whom I believe is more right-wing and dangerous than Trump, just curious as to when or where he stated these extremely controversial positions publicly.

Marty1960 I'm guessing @Stefan hasn't seen your post yet, lol.

Oh no, I heard about this yesterday. That was my girl. The weird thing was I started listening to Flashdance again a few months ago. I know she PLAYED in the movie Fame but I didn't know she did the song "Fame" too though. A lot of people didn't know she was Puerto Rican.